This Is My Bow
by Coeus
Summary: A day in the life of a Yu Yan Archer.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

**This Is My Bow**

_This is my bow.  
_

I wake up.

_There are many like it, but this one is mine. _

It is early. The sun has not yet risen, but I do. I check my bow, my strings, my quiver. I run my hands over every inch, looking for any sign of imperfection, making any necessary repairs or adjustments. None are needed.

_My bow is my best friend. _

Satisfied, I string my bow. I gear up and go for a run with my squad.

_It is my life. _

After running, I wash and dress. I sit with my squad at breakfast. Meals are the only times we are allowed to converse, to chatter inanely about anything we wish. We do not speak.

_I must master it as I must master my life._

After breakfast, I again check my equipment. I sit and fletch arrows. Each must be flawless. The slightest imbalance or imperfection is amplified with distance and can ruin a shot. Each must be flawless.

_My bow, without me, is useless. _

I store the arrows and head to the practice range.

_Without my bow, I am useless. _

This is the most important part of the day. The reason I exist.

_I must fire my bow true. _

I stand at 100 paces, staring at the target downrange. It is very small, but to me it seems large.

_I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. _

I take an arrow from my quiver.

_I must kill him before he kills me. _

Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

_I will... _

The arrow flies true. Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

_My bow and myself know that what counts in this war is not the arrows we fire, the noise of our string, nor the panic we make. _

I fire two shots in the space of a heartbeat. It is too slow.

_We know that it is the hits that count. _

I will continue to train. I will get faster.

_We will hit... _

Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

_My bow is human, even as I, because it is my life. _

Soon I will fire three times within a heartbeat, and eventually four.

_Thus, I will learn it as a brother. _

Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release.

_I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its string. _

I continue to practice.

_I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. _

I shoot standing and kneeling and prone. I shoot on the run and from horseback. I shoot from trees, from towers, from walls. I shoot one arrow and many arrows.

_I will keep my bow clean and ready. _

I hit still targets and moving targets. I hit small targets and large targets. I hit close targets and far targets. I hit single targets and multiple targets.

_We will become part of each other. _

It is all the same. Nock. Draw. Half-breath and hold. Aim. Release

_We will... _

My arms and shoulders burn. I practice through the afternoon and into the evening, continuing to shoot in the darkness.

_Before the Spirits, I swear this creed. _

The order comes to stop. I lower my bow and check the string. I brace my bow against the ground and unstring it. I check my bow for damage and polish it.

_My bow and myself are the defenders of my country. _

I retrieve arrows from targets, carefully removing them. I check them over, discarding those that are damaged. Each must be flawless.

_We are the masters of our enemy. _

I go to dinner with my squad. I sit silently as I eat, reflecting on the day, on the shots that were not perfect, the shots that must be improved.

_We are the saviors of my life... _

I return to the barracks, knowing that I will do it again tomorrow. I will do it again, only better.

_So be it, until victory is the Fire Nation's and there is no enemy, but peace! _

I am Yu Yan.

* * *

**A/N:** By far the shortest thing that I have written, but I like it. The part in _italics _is the Rifleman's Creed as taught by the U.S. Marines (for whom I have the utmost respect and hope I didn't offend by using it in a silly fanfic), I just made a few slight modifications for it to work with bow and arrow. I read the creed for the first time a few days ago, and thought it was very cool, and then I saw the Avatar episode with the Yu Yan archers again. It seemed like a natural fit. 

I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

Coeus


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